Dry air therapeutic cabinet



Nov. 26, 1957 E. A. STEWART 2,314,297

DRY AIR THERAPEUTIC CABINET Filed Feb. 15, 1955 I L A \H \\l x x x M; A 1 u 6 I & y

IN V EN TOR.

Enos A Si'ewari' ATTORNEKS' United States Patent DRY AIR THERAPEUTIC CABINET Enos A. Stewart, near Massillon, Ohio Application February 15, 1955, Serial No. 488,270

1 Claim. (Cl. 128-374) The invention relates to the relief of arthritis, rheumatic pains, colds and other ailments, and more particularly to a method and apparatus by means of which such relief is accomplished.

Applicant is aware that it is common practice in the treatment of arthritis, rheumatism and the like to apply extreme heat to the afiected portion of the body, as by diathermy and the like. While such treatments produce a temporary relief from arthritis or rheumatic pains, the relief is short lived and the treatments must be repeated frequently.

Applicant has found by experience that measuredly increased relief from the pains and crippling elfects of arthritis, rheumatism and the like may be produced by subjecting the entire body, with the exception of the head, to less intensive dry heat for a period of several hours. Applicant has also found by experience that a common cold can be entirely cleared up in a short time by using the above treatment.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for relieving arthritis, rheumatism, muscular pains, colds and the like by subjecting the entire body, with the exception of the head, to dry heat for a period of several hours.

Another object is to provide means for enclosing the entire body, with the exception of the head, within a suitable substantially air-tight container, within which a temperature considerably above ordinary room temperature is maintained so that the entire body, with the exception of the head, is in contact with heated dry air.

A further object is to provide for the circulation of heated dry air in contact with all parts of the body, excepting the head.

A still further object is to provide a container of sufficient size to accommodate a patients body, with means for positioning the head outside of said container, and means for filling the opening through which the head is located, so as to maintain the container substantially airtight, a receptacle or compartment being located beneath and adjacent to said container and communicating therewith through openings, a source of dry heat being located in said receptacle or compartment whereby hot air may be circulated through the container in contact with all parts of the body, excepting the head.

The above objects together with others which will be apparent from the drawing and following description, or which may be later referred to, may be attained by carrying out the improved method by means of apparatus such as illustrated in the drawing and hereinafter described in detail.

The invention may be stated in general terms as comprising a method for relieving the pains and crippling effects of arthritis, rheumatism and the like, and other bodily ills, including muscular pains and cold, by enclosing the entire body of the patient, with the exception of the head, within a substantially air-tight container or enclosure within which a temperature is maintained considerably higher than normal room temperature, but not suflicient high to cause the body to be burned or blistered. The entire body, with the exception of the head, is in continual contact with the substantially dry heat.

The apparatus by which the improved method may be carried out comprises a substantially air-tight container or enclosure of sufficient area to accommodate the patient comfortably in a sitting position, there being an opening in the top of the container through which the patients head is located, means being provided for forming a substantially air-tight seal between the edges of said opening and the patients neck, said means comprising any suitable soft, pliable material which will not cause any discomfort to the patient, the container being preferably in the form of inner and outer spaced shells of metal or the like, between which may be located any conventional heat and cold insulation material so as to prevent undue escape of seat from the container.

Means is provided for heating the air within the container to a temperature considerably above normal room temperature but not sufficiently high to burn or blister the patients skin or otherwise cause bodily harm.

For the purpose of maintaining the desired temperature within the container, a heating compartment or receptacle may be located adjacent to the container, preferably therebeloW, "and communicating therewith through apertures in the common partition wall between the container and heating compartment, whereby substantially dry air of desired temperature may be continually circulated through the container in contact with all parts of the patients body.

A fan or equivalent means may be provided in the heating compartment for circulating the hot air through the container. The invention thus set forth in general terms is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which the figure is a vertical sectional view through an apparatus designed for carrying out the improved method, showing the manner in which the entire body of a patient, with the exception of the head, may be enclosed within a container and will be continually in contact with dry heated air.

Referring now more particularly to the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the apparatus in which the method of treatment may be carried out comprises a substantially air-tight enclosure or container indicated generally at 1. This container is of suflicient area to accommodate the patient in a comfortable, preferably sitting, position, and is preferably formed of spaced inner and outer shells 2 and 3 formed of sheet metal or other suitable material, the spaces between the shells being filled with a suitable heat and cold insulation material as indicated at 4, so as to effectively reduce heat loss from the container.

For the purpose of permitting the patient to enter or leave the container, a door 5 may be provided upon the front side of the container. This door may also be in the form of a hollow shell as shown, with heat insulation material therein.

Any suitable seat, such as a conventional chair 6, may be located upon the bottom wall 7 in such position that the patients head will project through the opening 8 in the top wall of the container, which is provided for this purpose, when the patient is seated upon the chair as shown in the drawing.

The opening 8 may be filled with any suitable soft, pliable material such as a fabric, sponge rubber or the like, as indicated at 9, located between the edge of the opening 8 and the patients neck, as shown in the drawing. The container is thus maintained air-tight and the soft, pliable material used for filling the opening will not cause any discomfort to the patient.

For the purpose of maintaining the desired temperature within the container 1, a heating receptacle or compartment is located adjacent to and in communication with the container. As shown in the drawing this heating compartment, indicated at 10, may be located directly below the bottom wall 7 of the container 1, and may communicate therewith through the openings 11 and 12.

Suitable heating means, such as any conventional type of electric heating element indicated generally at 13, may be located within the heating compartment it! so that the air heated thereby circulates through the container 1 in contact with all portions of the patients body, excepting of course the head, which is located outside of the container.

For the purpose of increasing the circulation of the heated air within the container 1, a fan 14 may be located within the heating compartment in position to force heated air from the heating element 13 upward through the apertures 11 into the container and withdraw air from the container through the aperture 12 as indicated in the drawing.

The air within the container 1 may thus be maintained at a considerably higher temperature than normal room temperature but should not be hot enough to burn or physically injure the patient.

This is a considerably lower temperature than is ordinarily applied to the afi'licted portion of the body by convent-ional treatments such as diathermy, in which an extremely high temperature is applied to a small area of the body.

Applicant has found by experience that substantially dry heat thus confined within an enclosure or container and applied to the entire body produces relatively quick relief from arthritis, rheumatic pains and the like, and has also found by experience that a common cold may be entirely cleared up with a single treatment applied in the manner above described.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiments of the improved construction illustrated and described herein are by way of example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the exact details of construction.

Having now described the invention or discovery, the construction, the operation, and use of preferred embodiments thereof, and the advantageous new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and useful construction, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

A dry air therapeutic cabinet for treating a patient to relieve arthritis, rheumatic pains, colds and the like, comprising a substantially air-tight, heat and cold insulated container, a seat located within the container for supporting a patient in sitting position, there being an opening in the top of the container through which the patients head is located, means forming a substantially air-tight seal for said opening, a heating compartment below the container, heating means in said heating compartment, a fan adjacent the heating means, and openings on each side of the fan and heating means forming communications between the heating compartment and the container, whereby heated air is continuously recirculated between the heating compartment and the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 788,540 Kny May 2, 1905 1,039,962 Klotz Oct. 1, 1912 1,436,090 Greenwalt Nov. 21, 1922 1,476,460 Osborn Dec. 4, 1923 2,008,653 Braselton July 16, 1935 2,098,295 Kettering et al Nov. 9, 1937 2,634,362 Achner Apr. 7, 1953 

